MOUNT OLIVE — In the wake of the shootings at Newtown, Conn., Mount Olive officials are considering whether to install an armed security officer at the high school and middle school.

Mount Olive Police Chief Mark Spitzer said in a news release that he and Superintendent Larrie Reynolds have a plan in the works to try to install Joseph Kluska, a former township police officer, as an armed special police officer.

Kluska was hired by the
board of education as a security officer after he retired from the
police department in April 2011, Spitzer said. He had been employed as a school
resource officer for the high school and middle school along with another police officer but that program ended several years ago when the police department was downsized from 55 officers to 48 officers, Spitzer said.

Kluska does not currently carry a firearm in school buildings, but he did when he served as the school resource officer, Spitzer said.

Mayor Rob Greenbaum said a grant originally paid for two school resource officers
to operate in the building, but when the grant money ran out several years
ago, the district and the township split the cost. Limited resources
brought that program to an end in 2011, he said. Since then, the board of education has paid Kluska's salary as an unarmed security officer, Greenbaum said.

Greenbaum said he had spoken to the police chief within two weeks of the
shootings at Newtown, Conn. about possible ways to strengthen
security and communication between the township and the school district. Greenbaum said he didn't see a downside to having an ex-police officer
provide armed security inside the schools, but indicated the problem of school shootings was much larger than simply improving security.

"Certainly having an armed officer might act as a
deterrent, but I think it's a Band-Aid on a much larger problem,"
Greenbaum said.

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Spitzer wants to appoint Kluska as a
special police officer, Class II, allowing him full arrest power and the capability to be
armed while on duty. Spitzer said Kluska's salary would continue to be paid by the board of education but, as a special police officer, he would be accountable to the rules and regulations of the township police department. Statutes governing the special police officer program limit the township to employing one special officer who is not restricted by a maximum number of work hours, Spitzer said.

"There are benefits beyond the obvious safety advantages," Spitzer
said in the news release. "We know from past experience that a police presence, particularly
in the high school, strengthens and accelerates the lines of
communication."

If approved, Kluska's only assignment would be to work for the board of
education in a safety and security role, essentially continuing the same
service that he already provides, Spitzer said.

Before Kluska can be appointed, though, the township must first pass a
resolution approving a special officer program and the mayor would be
required to approve Kluska's appointment yearly, Spitzer said. The board
of education would also have to approve the plan and agree to continue
funding the position, he said.

For his part, Spitzer said he
would have to apply to the police training commission for a training
waiver to allow Kluska to continue his service as a special police
officer. Spitzer said he has already received assurances from the commission's director, Robert Melson, that if the township, mayor and board of education perform the necessary steps, Kluska could complete additional training through the township police department.

"For me it is a no-brainer as Joe (Kluska) honorably served the township for 25 years as a full-time police officer," Spitzer said in the news release. "He is already there, and I am extremely comfortable with his police skills and with his safety practices regarding the handling of firearms. He is a school security expert and has been in that environment for many years."

Reynolds said the board of education will discuss the proposal Monday.